Okay, I've found you either love or hate carrot cake. So which one are you?! Full disclosure, I used to hate carrot cake. Which is odd, considering I now love carrots (I refused to eat them as a child). But for some reason, I could not get behind eating a vegetable in something sweeter. Clearly I've now changed my approach to this, as I often use zucchini in sweeter recipes now as well. But even still, I think it's the muffin component of these that really seal the deal for me. They are so incredibly moist, and the added poppyseeds and orange flavors in this edition really make them stand out. And the cream cheese glaze drizzled on top? It's the cherry on top for me! These are gluten free, grain free & can be modified to make them dairy free also. They're perfect for Easter weekend brunch if you ask me! Or really anytime, because they're freaking delicious. Prep them a week ahead and have them all week long for breakfast! You'll thank me later. Hope you enjoy!
Serves: 12 muffins
Ingredients:
For muffins:
2 cups almond flour
2 cups shredded carrots
1/4 cup chopped pecans, more for topping
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp poppy seeds, more to top
1 tsp orange zest
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 to 3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/4 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
For cream cheese glaze:
1/2 stick cream cheese (4 oz) (*Substitute dairy free cheese for DF option)
1/2 fresh orange, juiced (1-2 tbsp)
1 tsp orange zest
1 tbsp honey
1-2 tbsp oat milk (or desired milk of choice)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add the wet ingredients to a mixing bowl: eggs, applesauce, vanilla, and honey. Start with 1/2 cup applesauce. Mix well using a whisk or hand mixer.
Next add the dry ingredients and mix until well combined. Then fold in the carrots and chopped pecans and mix. Add in additional applesauce here if needed to achieved the desired consistency. It should be a thick batter, but still somewhat fluid.
Fill a muffin pan with muffin cups. Spoon the muffin batter into each cup. An ice cream scoop worked well for me here! Once all muffin holes are filled evenly, beat the pan a few times to even them out. Then top with any remaining pecans.
Bake in oven for about 25 minutes. Every oven is different so be sure to watch them closely at the end so that they do not burn. The muffins should be finished when you can place a toothpick in them without any muffin coming out on the toothpick and they should also be firm.
While the muffins are baking, make the cream cheese frosting: Combine cream cheese, orange juice and zest, oat milk and honey. Start with 1 tbsp milk and add more if needed to achieve desired consistency. Mix until well combined. Refrigerate to thicken a little before using.
Remove muffins from oven and let cool completely. This is important to make sure the glaze does not run off. Once cooled, drizzle each with cream cheese glaze. You can use a spoon or place in a zip loc bag and cut off a small corner to drizzle. Sprinkle with poppyseeds and serve them up!
It feels great to be back in the kitchen! After vacation and being out of the kitchen for a while, I always feel renewed and ready to cook again. I've been picking up inspiration from enjoying foods around the world and look forward to sharing them with you! Along with some spring content for your feed. As always, I'm always open for suggestions so be sure to reach out if you have a specific request!
Until next time, Cheers!
Magen Check
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